In just 4 minutes and 57 seconds you’ll know the exact tools we use at Digital Marketer to do our video marketing… including those famous Ryan Deiss Video Sales Letters.
Enjoy…
You’ll find links to all video equipment, tools and software mentioned in this video at the end of this article.
You can find links to all resources we use at Digital Marketer here.
The following is a transcript of the video:
“Hey guys, Matt Coleman here at Digital Marketer and today we are going to talk about the video marketing resources we use here at Digital Marketer.
Before we begin I want to make sure that you understand all of this equipment isn’t necessary to get started with video. Ryan Deiss got started with video using PowerPoint for VSLs and a flipcam when filming a talking head clip. That said you should understand you can get started making videos using simple equipment such as a light source, computer and video camera from your smartphone.
So you have probably seen a few different styles of videos we use here at Digital Marketer. There’s the classic Video Sales Letter (VSL) style, the talking head format, screen capture and animated videos. Now we want to show you exactly how we create these different forms of movie magic.
Let’s start with the talking head video.
As you can see there is a white background behind me. This is a white backdrop you can purchase from Amazon in a variety of different sizes. The one behind me is a 8 x 16. We have it supported by a metal frame you can also purchase from Amazon. In the past we used a green screen backdrop but it was very difficult to create a professional looking sharp image. We made some improvements by using green screen paint but decided to make a switch to a white backdrop. Not only would this create the sharp image we desired but it also saves time on post production as we don’t need to render out the video with a color key filter.
In terms of our lights, we use a variety of different kinds. To light the subject we use two softbox lights from a Cowboy light kit. To light the background we use two FotoDiox 500 led light panels on both the left and right side of the backdrop with a 1000 led light panel above. This isn’t necessary for every circumstance but you want to make sure to “blow out” the background to eliminate any possibility of shadows or wrinkles that may appear to the viewer.
For the audio we use a Sony UTX-B2 transmitter lavalier mic which connects to the Sony URX-P2 receiver. These mics are a bit costly but are well worth the investment if you want a good wireless solution. Alternatively you could use something like a Rode Smartlav Lavalier Mic for filming on a smartphone. The camera we use is a Canon Vixia HF G10. We have three of these Canon cameras so we can film at multiple angles. These are great little cameras that film at a resolution of 1080. The 1080 resolution is great for YouTube standards though we typically compress the video using handbrake when we place these videos on a website for sales purposes. We compress the video on sales pages to ensure it will load faster across multiple connection speeds.
The main tripod we use is the Manfrotto 546 B for the frame with the Manfrotto MVH502 A for the tripod head. We also have two Pearstone VT-2100 tripods that are great for a smaller budget and are extremely portable. We have a teleprompter that sits on top of the tripod from Prompter people that can connect to a computer. We used this feature in the past but have found it much easier to use an iPad with a program called Visio Prompt. Visio Prompt is a great program that is very intuitive and allows you to change the speed, font size and includes many other features.
Once we are done filming we take it over to the Macbook Pro and edit the footage using Adobe Premiere. If additional graphics are needed we add them using After Effects to add some visual interest. We use ScreenFlow to capture footage directly from the computer. This is a great program when we want to utilize content from a web page, document or software presentation. This easily allows for features including zoom, highlighting specific areas of the screen and basic video editing.
When creating video for a piece of software we create animated videos from a website called Powtoons. These video are incredibly easy to make and are similar to creating a PowerPoint presentation. We just record a voice over using a basic hand mic and import the audio into Powtoons to get started. Once the clip is done we simply download the file and make additional changes in ScreenFlow before compressing the video with HandBrake. If we want to add some music or other visuals we head on over to https://VideoBlocks.com. On this site we are able to get a variety of After Effects templates we can use for video intros, video clips, music files and sound effects to make the final touches on our clip.
When Ryan Deiss wants to make one of his famous VSL’s he creates the content using KeyNote. You can create the same effect using PowerPoint on a windows machine or if you don’t have access to that piece of software you can create one in Google Docs. Ryan will use ScreenFlow to record his computer screen and a headset microphone for the audio. You can also use QuickTime Player to record your screen if you don’t have access to ScreenFlow.
Well there you have it. You now have a behind the scenes sneak peak at the video marketing resources we use here at Digital Marketer. Keep in mind this is a limited view of the many types of tools we utilize here in the office on a daily basis.
If you want to see more videos from Digital Marketer be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can click on this link to subscribe. We would love to know what type of video resource you use in your business. Let us know in the comments box below. I’m Matt Coleman with Digital Marketer and thanks a lot for watching.”
Here’s a list of video equipment and software mentioned in the video. Some of the links below are affiliate links.
- HandBrake
- PowToon
- Video Blocks
- Screenflow
- Adobe Creative Cloud
- Sony URX-P2 – Receiver
- Sony UTX-B2 – Transmitter
- Canon Vixia HFG10
- Rode Smartlav Lavalier Mic
- Pearstone Tripod – VT-2100
- MVH502A – Tripod Head
- Manfrotto 546 B – Legs
- Teleprompter from Prompter People
- Visio Prompt
- Impact Super Collapsible Background White
- Backdrop Support System
- 2 Fotodiox 500 Led Panels
- Fotodiox 1000 Led Panel
- Cowboy Studio Light Kit
- Computer Mac Pro and Macbook Pro
- iPad for Teleprompter
